Ichigo Rain
by serendipitiesxlove
Summary: Otori goes to America, and Shishido wants him to stay there. When they meet up with Gakuto and Oshitari, the plotting begins. Silver pair [ShishiTori], AU
1. Chapter 1

Otori sighed for the seventh time that morning. Life in America was not suiting him well, but his friend had insisted on him taking a vacation there, and maybe even starting a new life there. It wasn't that Otori was unsuccessful in Japan, quite the opposite. He was well known as a concert violinist, and he lived in a sizeable house. Otori was still quite young though, and he needed to just relax for a while like a normal person. His friend had paid for a room at a nice hotel in America where Otori would stay for three weeks.

Otori's vacation, however, was far from relaxing.

The second he walked out of the airport, he wanted to fly back to his home in Japan. Walking into a country where you can only understand simple phrases like "thank you" and "good morning" is hard. Otori could already hear people whispering about him.

When he took all his things to the hotel room, he decided to explore the town he was in. He had a considerable amount of money to spend, so he set off to buy some food. During his search for food though, he spotted a sports shop and smiled to himself.

Sports. Now this was one thing that was familiar to him.

He entered the shop and immediately saw a flashy-looking tennis racket in front of him. He poked the handle and immediately frowned in distaste.

"This grip is terrible…" he commented out loud in Japanese. He stared at it and sighed again. Is this all America is? A big place where everything looks flashy, but had horrible quality. While he was thinking, he didn't notice a man walk up to him.

"Oi, did I just hear you speak Japanese?" Otori glanced at the man…he was quite handsome, with long brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. He spoke in Japanese, too, so Otori could under-

Wait, he spoke in Japanese? This guy could be Otori's savior!

"Aa, are you from Japan?" Otori mentally slapped himself. Of course he was from Japan! He just talked in fluent Japanese!

"Yeah. Uh…do you speak English?"

"No…do you?" Otori was kind of hoping he did, so he could find his way around the place.

"Yeah, I'm pretty fluent. I've been living here for a couple years now." The stranger smirked. "Are you looking for a racket with a better grip?"

Otori blushed. "Oh, no, I was just looking…I mean, um, this racket is pretty good…" Of course he didn't think so, but what else would he say, "I was just looking at them, but they're all bad. I like Japanese brands better". That would be rude.

The stranger frowned. He could already tell that this guy was way too nice for his own good.

"Are you kidding? If you played in Japan, you must know that this racket is crap. American rackets are unreliable." He grabbed Otori by the arm and led him to the grip tape. It was a good thing he didn't turn around, or he would've noticed that Otori was extremely red in the face.

"Now this is good stuff." The man handed him a pack. "Oh by the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, eh…Otori. Otori Chotarou." He was still blushing a bit.

"Hn. Shishido Ryo." Shishido turned around. "So…you new here? Want me to show you around or something?"

"Ah…yes please, Shishido-san."

For the rest of the day, Shishido was showing Otori around the town. America proved to be a really interesting place, but Otori was only half-listening. He caught the important parts, like "don't go here, it's a rip-off", but most of the time, Otori found himself staring at the man in front of him.

Shishido was gorgeous, and Otori couldn't help but stare at him. Otori didn't like to daydream, but he couldn't help to think of what it would be like to touch his lips…they really did look soft…

…oh no, what was he thinking? There would be no way Shishido could fall for _him_. He wasn't tough, wasn't great…and plus, Shishido-san was probably straight, and had a girlfriend, and…

"Otori? Yo, Otori. You listening?" Shishido was close to his face, staring at Otori in concern.

Embarrassed, Otori pulled away, apologizing over and over again.

"It's fine. I was just saying to call me tomorrow if you have time. Here's my number."

"Ah…arigatou…and thanks for today, really."

"No problem. See you around, then."

"…Ja."

Back in his hotel room, Otori fell on his bed. Perhaps he really should get back to Japan soon. No use daydreaming about someone he couldn't have.

Shishido buried his head in his pillow at home. He gave Otori his number? This in itself was okay, but the way he said it was like asking for a date. Shishido grinned. He wouldn't mind a date though, Otori really was cute when he blushed.

Oh shit.

Did he just think that? He didn't just think about that, right? Otori was leaving for Japan anyways. Plus, he probably had hundreds of girls lining up to see him. Running a finger through his hair, Shishido grinned. Maybe Otori would mysteriously miss his flight. Maybe he would be…oh god, don't think about that. Rolling over, he closed his eyes. But he didn't want to sleep.

If he slept, he would dream.

If he dreamed about it, he would want it even more.

He was already having dirty thoughts about him and Otori.

Damn it, is this what fangirls live like?

No…not even fangirls got this crazy. Shishido could actually see and speak to Otori. Fangirls just stalk people online.

Deciding against sleep, Shishido picked up a random book, not really taking in what he was reading. If you asked him, he probably couldn't even say who one of the characters was.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

Shishido woke up the next day to a ringing in his ears. Oh wait, that was the phone…oh well, he was awake now, he might as well pick it up.

Hang on, that can't be right. He woke up? He must've fallen asleep, after all. He'd have to scold himself for it later. He had more important things to do right now. Like pick up the phone…yes, that would probably be a smart idea.

"…Hello?"

"Eh…Shishido-san? Did I wake you up? Ah…gomen…or was I not supposed to call you? Did I interrupt something?" Otori kept babbling on the other line, and Shishido wasn't really listening. He was really happy Otori actually called him, but he was still tired.

"What time is it right now?" He asked, completely unaware he had cut Otori off mid-sentence.

"Ano…1:17." No wonder Shishido was so tired. 1:17…Otori was calling that early? Shishido thought he had more sense than to call during the dead of night. But if it was supposed to be night, why was it so brigh—Shit. Shishido slapped himself. It was 1:17 in the _afternoon_, not the morning. Geez, Shishido was slow today. Well, he did just wake up.

"So, what did you want to do today? Anything in particular?" Otori probably had something in mind, Shishido didn't think he was the type of person to call someone and say, "I have no clue what to do today. What about you?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew where the tennis courts might be…" Otori felt kind of ashamed. He should probably let Shishido choose where they would go, since he really knew the place well. So he quickly added, "But if you know a better place, I'd be just as happy to go."

The tennis courts? That would be fun. "No, the tennis courts sound great. Do you have your own racket, or do you want to borrow one of mine? I use a Japanese brand, so it should be fine for you to use. None of that American junk you saw yesterday."

"Ah, no, I have my own…" Borrowing a racket from Shishido didn't sound like a bad idea, except Otori would probably never give it back. He would want to take it and keep it, and just stare at it the whole time…

"I'll pick you up right now, then?" This question was followed by Shishido's stomach letting out a small growl. Oh right, he forgot that he hadn't even had breakfast yet.

"But you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Otori asked, concerned. Playing…well, no, doing _anything_ on an empty stomach wasn't very fun, he knew.

"I'll grab a bite on my way."

"That would be a good idea." Otori smiled and started picking out a more suitable outfit. He had a feeling he'd be hanging out with Shishido a lot in three weeks. "I'll see you later then," he told Shishido.

"Yep. I'm on my way." And with that, they both hung up.

Once Otori found a comfortable pair of shorts and a T-shirt, he quickly pulled them on. As he imagined himself spending a day with Shishido, he grinned to himself, but quickly reminded himself that he shouldn't be thinking of such things. He picked up his tennis bag and walked out of the hotel. He decided he would just wait at the entrance, so they could leave right away.

Sitting down and taking his racket out of his bag, he played around with the strings until he overheard two people talking. _In Japanese_.

"Hey, Yuushi, look at that kid over there. Look, he plays tennis, and his hair is silver, do you see?"

"Gakuto, it's rude to point."

Otori looked up and, sure enough, there was a person pointing at him, talking to a taller man with blue hair.

"Now look, he noticed you talking about him, probably thinking you've never seen a person with a racket before. You should apologize." The man who was talking had a strange accent, but Otori was sure he had heard it before.

"Osaka?" Otori wondered out loud. Then, realizing that they were staring at him, he added, "I'm Japanese."

"Oh, I see…" the blue-haired man said, and then nudged the other boy. "See, Gaku, you have to be nicer to people, some of them understand what you're saying." The shorter boy grumbled a bit before going speaking to Otori.

"Gomen, gomen…"

Then a familiar voice yelled out.

"Oshitari! Otori! Hey!" Otori turned and saw Shishido running up to the three of them. He put his racket back in his bag and stood up.

"Never notices me, does he…" the shorter boy said.

"I hope you had a good breakfast, Shishido-san."

"Breakfast? It's almost 1:30, Shishido…"

"Slept in," Shishido mumbled. "Anyways, the three of you met each other?"

"Not really. Oshitari Yuushi." The taller man shook Otori's hand.

"Gakuto."

"I'm Otori Chotarou, it's nice to meet you two."

Shishido cocked his head to the side. "Let's go then. Oshitari, Gakuto, we're heading to the courts. You coming?" They both nodded. Shishido grabbed Otori's hand (Otori's stomach did a backflip at the contact) and turned around to lead him to the courts, with Gakuto and Oshitari following them in the back.

If Otori turned around, or wasn't occupied with staring at Shishido, he might've noticed Gakuto clinging on to Oshitari's arm, talking. About him. Again.

"Ne, Yuushi, don't you think so? They would be cute together, look, look, they're holding hands. Shishido needs a boyfriend, anyways. Girls would probably do stupid things like save every tissue he's used or something like that. Yuushi? Don't you think so?"

Normally, Oshitari would try making his friend shut up before he said too much, but this time, Gakuto had a point. It looked like the relationship could work, but he had to find out for certain. He took a glance at the two of them. Shishido must've finally realized what he had been doing because he had a small patch of pink on his cheek, but he still clung on to Otori's hand. Oshitari reached a decision. He would need to think of a plan.

Gakuto was one step ahead of him.

"His hotel room key…" he whispered into Oshitari's ear. Yes, this was a good idea, but it would be terrible if something went wrong and messed up the plan. Plus, they didn't even know where the key was.

Gakuto must've been reading his mind or something, since he pointed to Otori's tennis bag and said, "Keys". He must've been plotting this for a while now if he had already found out where the keys were, but that didn't matter. Pulling this off was going to be fun and really, it was…for the best. In any case, Gakuto and Oshitari loved pulling pranks. They were called the Naughty Pair for a reason. Well, of course there were a lot of different reasons, but that didn't matter.

"We're here," Shishido said as they reached the courts. He was still holding on to Otori's hand, Oshitari noticed.

Oshitari and Gakuto smirked.

Oh, yes. Very naughty.

**---xxxx---**

A/N: I'm gonna try to update this every day, but when I start getting -548312 percent on my tests, I'll have to slow it down a bit...but about the actuall story...nothing much really happened in this chapter but next chapter, for sure! Hope you liked it :)


	3. Chapter 3

When they entered the courts, Shishido finally let go of Otori's hand to get his rackets out. He gave one to Oshitari, and then took his own out.

"Hey! What about me?" Gakuto didn't get a racket and didn't have time to get his own.

"I only have two. Tough luck for you, huh, shorty?" Shishido and Gakuto didn't have the most wonderful buddy-buddy relationship.

"You can borrow mine, I have a spare." Otori handed Gakuto his racket. Gakuto looked at the racket in his hand. Ooh. This looked promising. Oshitari, however, shot him a glance that said, "stick to the plan or I'll kill you", so Gakuto decided against whatever he was plotting. Oshitari kept staring at Gakuto though…damn that Yuushi, not very trusting, is he? Pouting, Gakuto put down the racket as evidence that he wasn't going to do anything.

Turning to the courts, Oshitari called to Otori and Shishido. "You two go ahead, me and Gaku are going to practice getting used to the new rackets." Good thing Oshitari was quick to follow up on a plan. If he didn't get Shishido and Otori occupied quick enough, Gakuto would be the one telling them that they were going to practice. It was common knowledge that Gakuto didn't care one bit for practicing, and they would be suspicious if he had said that he was going to practice.

Oshitari and Gakuto were going to watch the first point to make sure that the two players had a good rally going before they took Otori's hotel room key.The Mission: Get the key from Otori's bag. Then, if all went right, Otori wouldn't be able to get into his room, and he would have to stay at Shishido's house. If they were right, which they usually were, Otori and Shishido both liked each other. The plan was perfect: they would steal the key, forcing Otori to move in with Shishido...and hopefully, Shishido would play his part and start flirting or _something_...young love was so fun to watch.

The only problem was, if they got caught, they'd have to resort to a backup plan.

It was too bad that they didn't have a backup plan.

After it was decided that Otori would serve, they prepared to snatch the key. With Otori's killer serve, however, the match would probably end faster than they thought it would.

"Yuushi?"

"Mm?"

"What the hell was wrong with that serve?" Gakuto stared at the silver-haired boy. He was so sweet and kind and yet his serve was just pure…evil. He apparently wasn't the only one who thought so, as Shishido was also gaping at Otori, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped open.

Oshitari, too, was stunned, but he knew that he had business to attend to, so he poked Gakuto in the ribs and pointed to the bag. Luckily, the pockets were already open ("He is just _asking_ to get robbed, Yuushi."), so Gakuto just reached in, grabbed a card, and took his hand out as quickly as possible.

Glancing at the card, Gakuto mentally cursed. He grabbed a business card? His luck was just…well, nonexistent, really.

He glanced over at the pair before dipping his hand back in the bag. This time, he pulled out the hotel key. Pocketing it, he gave Oshitari the thumbs-up before starting to watch the game again.

Besides Otori's serve, the match was uneventful with a final score of 6 games to 3. That must've hurt Shishido's pride a lot. Like, poked, stabbed, and left-a-scar-hurt. When Otori and Shishido were walking back towards him, Gakuto said he didn't feel like playing anymore. Shishido rolled his eyes and muttered something about "didn't even need a racket in the first place…made such a big deal about it…" and he took his racket back from Oshitari to put it away.

"I'm sure you two are tired," Oshitari tactfully said. "Why don't we just drop off Otori and rest a big, while we're there?"

"Sounds good to me." Shishido turned towards Otori. "You okay with that?"

"Yeah, that would be great." And they all headed to the hotel.

When they got to Otori's room, they found themselves locked out.

Surprise, surprise.

"This isn't good…" Otori fumbled through the pockets of his bag.

Oh no, Otori, quite the contrary. This was wonderful; the pan was playing out smoothly.

"Maybe you left it at the tennis court," Gakuto chimed in.

"If we go back now, the courts will be closed, though." It was a good thing they were very experienced in pranks…er…well-thought-out-plans-to-help-people. If they weren't then they wouldn't sound so convincing. Or keep a straight face.

It took years, Oshitari remembered, for Gakuto to learn how to keep his mouth shut when he was excited. He was still learning how to keep his mouth shut in general, though. This might take a little more time.

In any case, Shishido was taking a long time to think of the only and obvious solution, so Oshitari gave him a hint that he would _hopefully_ take.

"If Otori can't get his keys, he's going to need somewhere to stay."

They still didn't take the hint.

"Yeah, and me and Yuushi aren't going to share. We're already sharing with each other in a tiny apartment. Shishido, you do it." Well, that worked. Otori started babbling about being rude and whatnot, while Shishido smirked.

"I guess that's our only choice. Let's all go back to my place, then." Shishido turned, heading towards the exit. They called a cab to go and drop them off at a two-story house.

"What do you think of it?" Shishido asked, unlocking the door.

"It's…um…nice." It was _tiny_, compared to Otori's house, but at least it looked cozy. Not to mention the fact that it was bigger than the hotel room, which is always a plus.

Still, getting to live with Shishido for almost three weeks?

He was so glad he lost his key.

When they entered the house, Shishido told Otori to look around since he needed to talk to Oshitari and Gakuto.

"If you could make it snow it would be good," were the first words out of Gakuto's mouth when Otori was out of the room.

"Or if you did construction on every room except one," Oshitari added.

Shishido groaned.

Apparently, thinking of a plan to make Otori his wasn't going to be easy.

Actually doing it would probably be even harder.

**---xxxx---**

A/N: I changed it (Many thanks for the constructive crit. :) ), and I hope it's a bit easier to understand now! The edits were a bit rushed though, so be sure to message if it still doesn't make sense...arigatou!


	4. Chapter 4

Oshitari, Gakuto, and Shishido were sitting close together on a couch, discussing possible plots to make (cough_force_cough) Otori fall for Shishido. This should be easy for Oshitari, as he was a sucker for romance. Well, he was supposed to be, according to all the doujinshi they read (What? Guys can read doujinshi too, you know…). However, he turned out to be the least bit helpful.

"Well, we could do the classic jealousy thing, right?" Gakuto actually had lots of ideas in mind.

"But we don't know if he likes Shishido enough to get jealous. Plus, if it goes too far, he might think Shishido liked someone else and he'd give up."…Yes, Gakuto supplied ideas, and Oshitari thought of reasons why every one of the ideas wouldn't work.

Shishido groaned. They were getting nowhere and Otori was bound to come back into the room soon. Shishido's house was only so big, and Otori probably wouldn't have to spend more than a couple of minutes to explore, unless he was a really slow walker or something.

"Let's take him somewhere, then…"

"That might work." Finally. Oshitari actually agreed with something. "But where? It should be close by, having to travel too much would be a hassle."

They all started thinking of places. Well, Gakuto was thinking aloud, so Shishido was basically just listening to Gakuto. As for Oshitari, after being Gakuto's partner-in-crime for so many years, he had gained the ability to block out Gakuto's voice, which came in handy quite often.

"Park, too boring…amusement park, too crowded. Mall, not very romantic, _and_ too crowded…movies, too obvious, restaurant…Hm. Oh no, it won't work, me and Yuushi want to be there too and if we go, it'll be too awkward…" Gakuto kept rambling and soon, Shishido heard Otori coming over.

Shit, they were out of time.

As soon as Otori walked in the room though, Gakuto and Oshitari screamed, "Camping!" at the same time.

Oshitari might be able to block out Gakuto, but because they were partners-in-crime for years, they started thinking the same way, and become sort of like twins. Well, not really, but you get the point. But since Oshitari thought just like his partner, his ability to block out Gakuto's voice didn't really matter. Still, it was fun to brag and say that he had found a way to withstand Gakuto's constant talking.

"Eh…" Otori broke Oshitari's train of thought. "Camping…?" In truth, Otori was kind of scared at the sudden outburst. They seemed pretty quiet a second ago…

"Me and Yuushi are going to take you camping! Oh, Shishido can come too, I guess…"

"Huh?" Otori turned red. "Oh...no, that would be way too bothersome for you guys, I mean, it's so last-minute, and all my stuff is at the hotel, and…"

"That doesn't matter. We wanted to go anyways, and we really, really, _really_ want you to come with us. Ne, Yuushi? He can come, right?" After receiving a nod from his partner, Gakuto smiled. He then quickly frowned and added, "But if you really don't want to go…I was really looking forward to it, but I guess if you'd rather not come with us…" Gakuto's voice cracked a bit. Shishido had to admit; Gakuto was getting better at acting. But then again, Otori wasn't that hard to convince.

"I guess I could go then, if you really don't mind…" Gakuto immediately started bouncing up and down.

"Okay, tomorrow then. Be ready at nine a.m.! Ja!" Gakuto walked out of the house with Oshitari following, both wearing identical smirks. They'd have to make sure Shishido wouldn't mess up the whole thing. When they got home, they started planning out the smaller details.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

And it wasn't like they were going to work for free. If someone was going to use their plans, they would have to pay. There wasn't much personal enjoyment in the plot they were coming up with at the moment.

"Should we ask for money?"

"But Gakuto, last week you said that you wanted more blackmail pictures of Shishido."

"Ooh, good point. Okay, blackmail it is, then."

Seriously, they should start a business for selling evil plots. Or they could write a book about it. "Pulling Pranks for Dummies". Or "Thinking of Evil Plots 101". Pretty catchy title, ne?

----The next day----

"…Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now, don't screw it up. I know you're not that experienced in following through your plans, but this is crucial."

"Shut up, I'm not stupid."

"Sure. We're coming now. Bye, don't make a fool of yourself." Gakuto hung up. "Let's go, Yuushi!"

"Aa…Coming."

They left the apartment and walked over to Shishido's house. Gakuto rang the doorbell and heard Shishido's footsteps immediately after.

The door opened and Shishido came out with Otori following.

"All right, let's go. Who's driving?"

"Yuushi." Otori blinked. They could drive, so they must be…eighteen? He couldn't believe that in all this time, he hadn't figured out their ages.

"All three of us are eighteen," Shishido confirmed, like he read his mind or something.

"Oh."

All four of them got in the car, Yuushi and Gakuto sitting in the front and Otori sitting in the back with Shishido. Shishido sat on the far side of the car with Otori next to him, and a small backpack on the other window seat. Things were going according to plan so far. If Otori or Shishido decided to take a nap on the way there, they'd conveniently fall on the others lap or shoulder (Shishido was specifically told not to lean on the side of the car), and Gakuto took his picture phone with him just in case it provided a good picture for future blackmailing.

With the preparations in place, they took off to the campsite, where stages two and three would occur. The last thing to do was to hope that the plan worked and Shishido did his part right.

Shishido prayed to god that it worked, or it would be a complete waste of a trip. Worst case scenario, he would go through all the steps, Gakuto would get his blackmail, and Otori didn't fall for it. Gakuto wouldn't stop annoying him for years, probably.

That would really suck.

**---xxxx---  
**

A/N: Sorry about the age thing, when I read fics that are like, "Tezuka's 50 years old!" I get all depressed, so I usually try avoiding ages when I write. Hope you guys don't mind, though…

Oh wow, two chapters in a day... that's amazing...I should probably slow it down a little though, I have a feeling my chapters are getting worse and worse...(laugh)

Well, hope you liked it! Until tomorrow, then (and here I was saying that I was going to slow down...)! Ja!


	5. Chapter 5

-Recap of Chapter 4-

All four of them got in the car, Yuushi and Gakuto sitting in the front and Otori sitting in the back with Shishido. Shishido sat on the far side of the car with Otori next to him, and a small backpack on the other window seat. Things were going according to plan so far. If Otori or Shishido decided to take a nap on the way there, they'd conveniently fall on the others lap or shoulder (Shishido was specifically told not to lean on the side of the car), and Gakuto took his picture phone with him just in case it provided a good picture for future blackmailing.

-End-

After half an hour, Otori finally looked like he was about to fall asleep. The only problem was, he was leaning against the back of the car seat instead of Shishido's shoulder.

Shishido decided this was not a big problem, as it wouldn't help Otori realize he loved him or anything…he would be asleep, right? Gakuto obviously thought it was a huge problem though (less blackmail for him), so he turned around in the front seat and glared at Shishido.

"Aren't you _tired_, Shishido?"

Truthfully, Shishido was about to say "nope", but considering the look Gakuto was giving him, that would probably be a bad idea, so he settled on saying "kinda" instead.

Gakuto have him a meaningful look (which secretly meant "hurry up and make a move or else") and turned back around to face the front.

Shishido sighed.

One minute passed and nothing happened.

Two minutes passed and nothing happened.

Three minutes…

Gakuto turned around again, but said nothing. In the last couple seconds, Gakuto and Shishido seemed to have gained the ability to read each other's mind.

"_Do something, idiot._"

"_Shut up._"

"_Sissy_."

"_Shut up._"

"_Oh, the drama queen is going to cry_."

Shishido rolled his eyes and upon looking at Gakuto again, he decided to initiate the plan. He quickly developed the Jiroh-Tactic and plopped right on to Otori's shoulder, pretending to be asleep.

Otori's shoulder stiffened and he started to pull away, so Shishido quickly latched himself onto Otori's arm, another technique introduced to Shishido by Jiroh. He had to admit though, it was really comfortable. Otori relaxed a bit, and turned his head to look out the window.

After a few more minutes, Shishido and Otori both fell asleep.

_Finally_, Gakuto thought. He quickly took out his camera phone and snapped a picture. They looked so cute together. Gakuto couldn't wait to add the photo to his "Big Book of Blackmail".

-X-

Two hours later, they arrived at the campsite, and Otori and Shishido both woke up to get out of the car. When he climbed out, Otori gasped at the sight of the house.

Camping? This wasn't camping. This was like…a vacation house. A vacation house that was bigger than Shishido's house. Still smaller than Otori's house, but much bigger than Shishido's.

Gakuto grinned at Otori's expression.

"You like?"

"Oh, uh, yeah…it looks…nice."

_Nice? Just **nice**? Damn, this guy must be like a billionaire or something. Normal people would flip to see this house…_ "Well, we should probably go inside, ne?" Gakuto smirked and started walking in.

After remaining silent for the whole car ride, Oshitari finally spoke.

"I'll show you to your room, I hope you don't mind sharing with Shishido?"

What…? Room with Shishido? Of course he didn't mind! But why…they must have tons of spare guest rooms he could use…

"No, I don't mind."

…room with Otori? He loved the idea, but Gakuto and Oshitari never mentioned this in the plan. Seriously, those two…he understood they had to keep some parts of the plan secret to Shishido, but this was a big thing.

Gakuto and Oshitari led them to their room, which happened to be tiny, maybe half the size of Otori's closet. Shishido had a feeling that this used to be some sort of storage room or something…sure, it fit a bed and a cabinet, but still, he had to live in this tiny dump? This was torture!

…Otori, on the other hand, was worrying about more things than just the size of the room.

"Ano…there's only one bed in here…should I sleep on the floor?"

Gakuto smirked. "The bed's big enough to share though, and if anyone sleeps on the floor, it should be Shishido."

Otori turned a bright red. Share…the bed…? Well, that was kind of unexpected. Then again, it wasn't like things were awkward between them or anything…plus, it would look suspicious if Otori wimped out from even being in the same room with Shishido.

Just as he was putting the backpack on the floor, Gakuto's stomach growled.

"Lunch time," Oshitari declared.

All four of them crept back down the staircase and walked into the dining room to find a meal already set on the table, with a maid standing in the corner of the room.

They picked their seats and Otori looked up in time to see Gakuto winking at Shishido.

He pretended not to notice it, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Otori couldn't help but think that this camping trip wasn't planned just to have fun.

He looked up again to see Shishido playing with his food.

Oh well…he'd just have to ignore it for now and see what happened.

**---xxxx---**

A/N: Ah…this is my shortest chapter yet…gomen, gomen. Well, there goes my plan of updating every day…(laugh). Well yeah, I've failed a lot of my tests, so you probably won't hear from me as often (every other day instead of every day? x))…

Ah, I hope this chapter turned out okay, it was really rushed…


	6. Chapter 6

-Recap of Chapter 5-

Otori turned a bright red. Share…the bed…? Well, that was kind of unexpected. Then again, it wasn't like things were awkward between them or anything…plus, it would look suspicious if Otori wimped out from even being in the same room with Shishido.  
Just as he was putting the backpack on the floor, Gakuto's stomach growled.

"Lunch time," Oshitari declared.

All four of them crept back down the staircase and walked into the dining room to find a meal already set on the table, with a maid standing in the corner of the room.

They picked their seats and Otori looked up in time to see Gakuto winking at Shishido.He pretended not to notice it, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Otori couldn't help but think that this camping trip wasn't planned just to have fun.  
He looked up again to see Shishido playing with his food.

Oh well…he'd just have to ignore it for now and see what happened.

-End-

"…Oi, Oshitari, don't tell me you're really doing the 'construction on every room except one' thing…" Shishido put his fork down on the table and started whispering to Oshitari and Gakuto. Now they would just have to somehow change the weather to make it snow (1). Somehow.

"Don't be stupid, Shishido. You know that that's way too much effort and money for Yuushi and me, just so you and Otori can get together. I thought it would be fun, anyways." Gakuto whispered back, and then spoke in a normal tone, "Hey, hey, why is everyone so awkward? This is supposed to be a _fun_ trip, right?"

Otori started. "Ah! R-right! You three went through all this trouble to bring me to such a nice place, and…and it really would be a waste to just sit here! Eh…so, what would everyone like to do?"

"Well, you and Shishido should unpack, for one thing", Oshitari suggested.

"Okay! Um…what about the…room thing…"

"Oh…about that, we were just kidd-" Oshitari stopped talking when a hand slapped onto his mouth.

"Ne, can't you think about that later? Let's play together right now! It's already two! Come on! Let's go outside!"

Shishido sighed. Gakuto and his oh-so-dirty thoughts…Shishido and Otori didn't _really_ have to room together, right? Shishido had stayed in this house before, and he certainly knew that there were probably at least five other bedrooms that were three times the size of the room that was picked out for them. He wanted to stay there and think about the situation for a while longer, run through the plan again, but Shishido was interrupted by the sound of Otori's voice.

"Eh…Shishido-san? Are you feeling well? Do you want to stay inside…?"

Oops. He forgot about the fact that time was refusing to freeze for him to sit around.

"No, I'm fine…let's go then."

"Finally. Does the drama queen _always_ have to make other people wait for him? Oh, Yuushi, where are we going again?"

The tensai shrugged. "Not sure. Want to go out to the lake?"

"Aw…that's no fun." Gakuto put on the cutest pout and started tugging on Oshitari's sleeve. Of course, once again, being Gakuto's partner for so many years had made Oshitari oblivious to Gakuto's constant whining.

They ended up walking to the lake.

The plan was, to put it bluntly, not working. For some reason or another, Gakuto, Oshitari, and Otori were leading in the front while Shishido lagged behind. Shishido, as Gakuto had pointed out many times before, was not very great at following up on plots. Gakuto sighed, but he couldn't do much, because if he started yelling at Shishido, Oshitari would probably get mad.

And if Oshitari was mad, how on earth would Gakuto be able to get his free chocolate? Well, that was aside from the point, but still, it's an important part of Gakuto's life you know, free chocolate.

Gakuto's mind was reeling, trying to think of more plans to speed up the process. Shishido and Otori were taking way too long. He stared at the earth in front of him, not paying attention to his surroundings.

You know those signs on the elementary school busses that always said, "Watch your step", and you never really paid attention to them? They should put those on every tree in the forests, because someone might just be sleeping against one of them.

"Ah!" Gakuto tripped over some dead body lying on the path, and if it weren't for his "amazing acrobatic skills", he might've fallen down face flat.

…Okay, so the body wasn't really dead.

"Augh…Jiroh, watch where you sleep…! …Jiroh?"

The sleeping boy on the ground twitched a little, and then yawned and sat up as Shishido started to catch up with the other four.

Otori, on the other hand, was standing stock-still, staring at the figure before him.

"Jiroh-sempai?"

"Oh wow, it's Otori! I really didn't expect to see you here! And Gakuto! And Oshitari! And who's that, your boyfriend?"

"Eh…? N-no! This is Shishido-san! I just met him…he's been really helpful!"

"Huh…love at first sight, then? Good for you. Atobe's been saying that you need a boyfriend, anyways. You two would be really cute together, too!"

"Hah…" It wasn't like Otori didn't trust Jiroh's judgment, and he really did like Shishido, but…well, it didn't seem right…

Meanwhile, Shishido finally caught up. Jiroh looked at him through one eye for a minute, and then stood up and pulled Otori's hand.

"Otori, Otori, I wanna show you something! Come with me! Ple-ase?"

"Sure…"

"Alright! Everyone, please wait for the two of us!"

And with that, they took off into the woods, leaving behind Gakuto, Oshitari, and a very confused Shishido.

---

"So…? He seems pretty good for you."

"Eh…Jiroh-sempai, I'm not sure I know exactly what you're talking about…" Truth was, Otori did know what he was talking about. He really wasn't that shallow. But it would take him some convincing to accept the facts.

"Maa…you shouldn't pretend like you don't know what I'm saying. You said yourself that he's helpful…and you have to admit, his hair is pretty cool."

Otori felt heat rising to his face, and quickly tried to cover it.

"Well…um…yeah, but still…"

"Aw Otori, no more 'but's! Life's no fun when you play it safe! Promise me you'll try it out, okay?"

Otori fidgeted a little. Conversations like these always made him feel awkward. Jiroh was really a great friend though, and he could be trusted fully…so…he might as well…

"Okay. I promise."

"Yay! Yay! Let's go back! I know Oshitari always carries chocolate with him to calm Gakuto down!"

They locked pinkies (2), and started to hurry back to the other three that were waiting for him.

-xxxx-

(1): Reference to Chapter 3 – "When they entered the house, Shishido told Otori to look around since he needed to talk to Oshitari and Gakuto.  
"If you could make it snow it would be good," were the first words out of Gakuto's mouth when Otori was out of the room.  
"Or if you did construction on every room except one," Oshitari added.  
Shishido groaned."

(2): There was some confusion about this, and it's basically done when you promise something, to "lock" the promise.

---

A/N: Ahh…I haven't updated in more than a month now! Gomen, gomen…! I hope to start writing faster soon, so look forward to it, 'kay? And, as always, thank you for all the comments!

…Writers block really does suck. I've actually been planning to start adding more fluff, so that'll be coming up pretty soon, I hope. Gambattemus!


	7. Chapter 7

When Jiroh and Otori approached the other three, they saw Gakuto arguing with a very pink Shishido.

"Typical…" Jiroh yawned and turned to Oshitari. "Ne, I'm hungry…"

In a normal case, Oshitari would promptly take out a candy bar for the sleepy boy, but this time, he just stood, staring at Shishido and Gakuto.

Why?

They were being nice to each other.

Well, maybe not _perfectly_ nice, but they certainly didn't seem like they were killing each other as they normally did. Gakuto was whispering into Shishido's ear, which was strange enough. What was more, Gakuto was grinning and looked like he might burst into laughter at any moment. Oshitari might've been imagining it, but to him, it looked like Shishido was turning a deeper shade of red with every passing second.

Oshitari was not the type to get jealous easily, but, as a fact, Gakuto wasn't this secretive, and it was really pissing him off.

"Gakuto, let's go." Oshitari grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Shishido. As Gakuto was being dragged along the path, Shishido felt the need to yell at him.

"Like you're doing any better?"

He had hit a nerve. Gakuto wriggled free of Oshitari's grip, and turned to face Shishido, looking ready to hit him. However, he just took Oshitari's hand and he started running down the path in the opposite direction.

"Gakuto? Gakuto…what's wrong?" Gakuto didn't answer; he just kept running until they finally stopped at the lake.

"It's pretty…isn't it pretty, Yuushi?"

…Okay, something was definitely upsetting Gakuto. It wasn't like him to enjoy looking at the lake, much less saying that it was _pretty_. This was the first time Oshitari had heard Gakuto use the word…and to use it twice in one sentence was just…uncalled for.

Oshitari disregarded this though, and just responded, "Yeah…really pretty…"

Gakuto looked up and stared at Oshitari for a while before starting to babble.

"Ne, Yuushi, isn't tennis fun?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you like playing doubles?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't we great at thinking of plans?"

"Yeah."

"Otori and Shishido would be great together, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah."

"Jiroh and Atobe are pretty cute together too, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like me?"

Somehow…somehow, Oshitari knew that the question was coming. He'd been waiting for the question since the first day they met, imagining all the scenes in his head, daydreaming about it all the time. And yet, he wasn't prepared for it. In his mind, he had always known what to do, what to say, but now…

"…Yeah."

That was all he could say. Nothing fancy, nothing romantic, just one word.

Gakuto put his head on Oshitari's shoulder.

One word was enough for him.

For a while, the two of them didn't move, and just enjoyed each others' company. After some time, Gakuto finally lifted his head up off Oshitari, and they sat down to wait for everyone else.

---

"C'mon, Otori! I'll race you to the lake!" Jiroh hopped around a bit, waiting for a response.

"No, you can go on ahead, I'll be fine by myself."

"'Kay! Shishido…that's your name, right? Take care of Otori! Don't be mean!" Jiroh started skipping down the path before turning around again.

"Otori, if he tries to molest you or murder you or mug you or anything like that, just say no, 'kay? You don't have to be nice all the time! Got it?"

Otori and Shishido stared at Jiroh, but Otori eventually said yes, and Jiroh continued skipping down the path.

"Geez…what does he think I'm going to do…?"

Otori laughed a little bit at this and the pair started walking as Jiroh skipped out of sight.

It was quiet for a minute, but then Shishido decided that he would break the awkwardness between them. The silence was unbearable. You would think that someone who spent the whole day with Gakuto wouldn't mind it, but to Shishido, it felt weird when no one was talking.

"So…you and that hyper kid seem pretty close…"

"Eh? N-no, it's not like that!"

"…Huh?"

"Oh. Well…I mean…yeah, we're pretty good friends…his boyfriend was the one who suggested that I should come to America in the first place, and we've all known each other for a couple years now…"

Ooh, really? Shishido would have to thank his boyfriend later.

Well, he'd only have to thank him if the plan worked, but that's beside the point.

They kept walking…

…Another awkward silence.

Shishido ran a hand through his ponytail. "So…I've been wondering…"

"Yes?" Otori's heart started racing for no apparent reason.

"…Why do you always wear that cross necklace?" Oh…well, there was no reason for Otori to be disappointed, was there? What was he expecting, anyways? A proposal? Well, he'd have to wait quite a while for that, wouldn't he?

"I'm not sure why I wear it all the time. I guess I just like it. And…it reminds me of someone really special."

Shishido's heart sank.

"Really…? Who?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure I'll find someone soon. Jiroh said that to me."

Aha…that was kind of scary for a second, there…but it did answer the question of whether or not Otori had a girl or boyfriend yet.

When he mentioned Jiroh, Otori remembered the promise he made to him. Jiroh was expecting him to work everything out before he returned to Japan, and…

…Oh yeah, he had to go back to Japan in just…what, two weeks? Even if it turned out that they both liked each other, it would never work out with the distance.

But still, the promise…the promise to Jiroh, and the promise to himself…that he would _make_ it work out somehow.

"Shishido-san?"

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"And…do you promise you'll answer me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Shishido-san, do you…" He paused. "Do you like-"

"There they are! Look! Oi, Otori! Shishido! Hurry up!"

"Coming, coming! Worry about yourself, shorty! Ah…what were you going to ask me?"

Otori slung his head in defeat, replying, "No, it was nothing".

"If you say so…hey, if something's wrong, just ask me, okay?"

"Yeah…okay."

As they neared the rest of the group, Otori put a hand to the cross hanging on his neck.

"No…nothing at all."

-**xxxx**-

A/N: Yay, I'm updating more again! Bleh…I should really start homework…but…it's…too…boring…sigh

Please look forward to the next chapter as well!


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